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'Annie' actress' role fulfills dream

Published: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 10:57 p.m.

Many young girls dream of playing the title role in “Annie.”

Bailey Broome, who has the role in the CharACTers Entertainment production of the musical that opens tonight at Wallace Hall Fine Arts Center, not only has dreamed about playing the part, she has drawn it.

Bailey, 11, said several years ago she drew a self-portrait of herself looking at an Broadway theater marquee that said “Bailey Broome is Annie.”

“It’s been my dream a long time,” said Bailey, who first saw the film version of “Annie” when she was “5 or 6.”

“I always watched the movie when I was little and I always loved dancing and acting and singing and stuff. I just really wanted to be Annie. I’m very happy I was.”

Bailey, a natural redhead like the orphan she plays, is the daughter of Tracy and Alan Broome of Southside, and is a sixth-grader at Rainbow Middle School.

This is her second major role. She played Tigger in a CharACTers’ production of “Winnie the Pooh” last year, and said she has had a lot of fun learning her role. She also had a smaller role in “The Aristocats.”

Director Cody Carlton said there about 100 girls auditioned for the part. It came down to three finalists, and Carlton said all were “very talented.”

There was just something about Bailey’s audition, he said, to where “I couldn’t stop thinking about her playing the part.”

Tracy Broome said the timing of the play being staged is perfect for her daughter, since Annie is 11 years old in the play,

Bailey said had a brief anxiety attack when, after the first rehearsal, she realized just many lines and songs and dances she had to learn.

She said her family has helped her deal with the pressure of playing Annie, and that said cast members also have been very encouraging and helpful.

Bailey said play dates were scheduled in addition to rehearsals to help her get to know the dog that’s portraying Sandy, the stray that becomes her companion.

She said her favorite scene is when she sings the reprise to “Maybe,” when she realizes she will have to leave Daddy Warbucks when Miss Hannigan’s brother Rooster and his girlfriend Lily St. James pose as her parents to collect a reward from Warbucks.

“Maybe” actually is her favorite song in the musical, not the classic “Tomorrow.”

Bailey said she wants to continue in theater and eventually perform on Broadway.

‘That’s my dream,” she said, “I love it.”

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